A Dose Of Salts On Arms Control

April 24, 1986

As soon as the word leaked out that the U.S. would continue to live by the limitations of the unratified SALT II agreement, government officials administered a dose of salts. They said the President had decided in principle to end American compliance later this year.

It is as if President Reagan felt he needed to reassure the country that he hadn`t gone soft.

Of course, there is a point to his warning. The Soviet Union has not been dutiful about compliance. It has, at a minimum, engaged in a tortuous reading of some of the terms so as to claim that it has not violated them. And the United States has an obligation to call the Soviets to account.

The trouble is that arms control has operated in a hostile atmosphere ever since SALT II was signed, and the mechanisms of compliance and dispute resolution have become corroded.

It would be easier to give President Reagan the benefit of the doubt if he gave some tangible indication that he really was serious about replacing the outmoded SALT II with a new and better agreement, that he is ready to negotiate about all strategic arms issues--from nuclear test bans to testing and deployment of strategic defenses.

But as time goes on, it becomes more and more apparent that he intends to leave the task of real bargaining to his successor. Failure to recognize that arms agreement can advance United States national security has been one of his blind spots. He knows that for domestic and international political reasons, he has to keep up the appearance of good faith in negotiations. But only the appearance.